When Pope Francis embarks on his apostolic trip to Thailand, he will have the assistance of a translator: his second cousin, a nun--who has worked as a missionary there for the last 50 years.

With rumors swirling around about two of their members, the bishops of New York state celebrated Mass at the tomb of St. Peter.

Charles Taylor is a philosopher who has focused much of his work on secularism; Father Paul Bere is known particularly for his contributions to developing an African theology.

Pope Francis urged greater efforts to reform prison systems, address the root causes of crime and ensure acceptance and reintegration once a person completes his or her sentence.

During his Nov. 20-26 visit to Thailand and Japan, Pope Francis will deliver a message at the "hypocenter" or ground zero park in Nagasaki and will hold a meeting for peace later that day at the peace memorial in Hiroshima.

Celebrating Mass in the underground burial chamber, Pope Francis said he naturally thought "of the life of those people who had to hide, who had this culture of burying their dead and celebrating the Eucharist inside here."

Molly Burhans has a treasure trove of information about the global Catholic Church and she's giving the public the maps to find it.

Members of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon asked that women be given leadership roles in the Catholic Church, although they stopped short of calling for women deacons.

Referring to the statue as "Pachamama," like many media had done, Pope Francis told bishops at the synod that the statues had been displayed in the Rome church "without any idolatrous intention."

Signers of the new document promised to defend the Amazon rainforest, to promote an "integral ecology" of care for people and for the Earth and, "before the avalanche of consumerism," to live "a happily sober lifestyle."